European Fisheries Policy Needs Reform

Dr. Rainer Froese, a frequent collaborator of the Sea Around Us Project, explains problems with EU fisheries policy in last week’s issue of Nature. Froese begins:

The fishing industry is less important to Europe’s economy than its sewing-machine manufacturers. Yet it consistently gets to overrule scientific advice and drive fish stocks to the brink of collapse. Without massive subsidies, European fisheries would be bankrupt: the cost of hunting the few remaining fish would exceed the income from selling the catch.

Given the systemic failure of fisheries management as enacted by the ministries of agriculture, Froese believes the management of wild fish would be better if left to the ministers of environment. To read the full text click here.

Citation: Froese, R. 2011. Fishing at the Edge of Collapse: 27 Years of Common Fisheries Policy in Europe. Background material for Froese, R. 2011, Fishery reform slips through the net, Nature 475:7.

Recent News

Last week Dr. Daniel Pauly was invited to the White House to participate in a forum on citizen science and crowdsourcing.

The event, held on September 30, 2015, and hosted by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and the Domestic Policy Council, aimed to "celebrate the successes of citizen science and crowdsourcing,” and “raise awareness of the benefits these innovative approaches can deliver,” according to the White House website.